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6 B2B Email Etiquette Tips You Shouldn’t Misshttps://www.callboxinc.com/

A well-drafted email not only brings your brand into focus but also makes the flow of communication smoother.

More than 93% of B2B businesses use email marketing to tap into new markets and retain existing customers. Based on this, imagine how many opportunities a well-composed email can give you. So what exactly should be included in your game plan?

For starters, you need a solid understanding of essential email etiquette to clear the air and lay the groundwork for a healthy business relationship.

Let’s dive in deeper.

Importance of Good Email Etiquette

Email etiquette is a predefined set of rules and pointers that are essential in crafting crisp, clear, and concise correspondence. These rules can fluctuate depending on the final recipient, but the base remains consistent in most cases.

For instance, email etiquette surrounding cold emailing is different from promotional emails. However, in both cases, it is important to keep the language simple and easy to understand, and the content needs to be directed to the final consumer.

Good email etiquette ensures that your messages remain free of any gaps in communication, which increases your chances of a positive response. But that’s not all it does.

  • It speaks volumes about how professional your business is, especially if you are reaching out to the client for the first time.
  • It sets the right tone for all your subsequent communication.
  • It keeps communication smooth, leaving no room for ambiguity.
  • It leaves a healthy and positive impression on the customer, which makes your organization shine.
  • It helps you become better at drafting emails.
  • It leads to a better conversion rate.
  • It helps your content break the competition barrier and stand out.

If we had to draw a comparison, email etiquette is, in a way, the body language of your email content. The posture has to be polished, upright, and cordial, not sloppy or confused.

6 Email Etiquette Tips for Smooth Brand Communication

We are currently living in an era where physical interactions have taken a backseat and people prefer to reach out via digital methods. Even the slightest error in communication can bring down your entire email marketing strategy.

Familiarizing yourself with essential email etiquette can help you not only remove any creases in communication but also become a more seasoned writer.

Related: Communicate Well And Start Generating Qualified B2B Leads

Direct Your Email to the Right Person

Addressing an email to the wrong person conveys a negative image, showing that you’re reaching out with dubious knowledge. It’s like knocking on the wrong door and then complaining that the neighbors are rude.

More often than not, you will find the name of the recipient in the email itself. For instance, [email protected] clearly states the name of the recipient.

In case you find yourself deciphering a slightly creative email address and are unsure of how to greet the recipient, fall back on the familiar and use the company name.

Just remember, while reaching out to a potential client, never use an unsolicited salutation like “What’s up,” “Heyy there,” or worse, a misspelled name. Do your research, let them know that you are here to start a conversation, build a connection, and then take it from there.

Remember the Basics

Let’s go back to the time when we were all just starting out with learning how to use a computer and email account. There were a few ground rules taught to help us draft a good email.

These basics are still relevant and form the backbone of professional email etiquette. Let’s address them point by point.

  • Craft a crisp subject line that sets the expectation.
  • Start with a professional greeting, like “Hello,” “Dear,” or “Hi,” and play it safe. Don’t sound too friendly or too strict; find the right balance.
  • Remember to introduce yourself and keep the tone conversational.
  • Use professional and clean fonts, such as Arial or Times New Roman, in a readable size (preferably 10- to 12-point).
  • Always proofread the content before hitting the send button.
  • Avoid abbreviations and euphemisms.
  • The use of emoticons should be restricted to more personal chats.
  • Always end a message with a unique and uncomplicated email signature.
  • Send the email from your professional account to keep things structured.

Now that you know the addressee and understand the basics, add some automatization to your emails.

Automate Your Responses

In a fast-paced world like ours, time is everything. Automated responses are the ideal way to save time on drafting emails that are repetitive and target the same client base. They also come in handy when you’re off duty and your clients or colleagues reach out to you.

Various email tools, like Mailchimp and Right Inbox, give you the liberty to choose from thousands of email templates, automate your emails, send follow-up emails, and even schedule your emails so you can reach max productivity at work.

Respond within a Reasonable Time Frame

Customers of today’s age are extremely impatient. They need quick redressal and are quick to assume as well.

A simple acknowledgment that you have received their message and are working on it will tell them they’ve been heard, in turn, building your trust value. Automate this response to save time.

Your response window to a query should ideally fall somewhere between 24 and 36 hours. Most businesses choose to keep this window a little bigger and respond with an automated message stating that someone will get in touch within two to three business days.

Optimize Your Content Structure

Digital marketers have an abundance of advanced tools, but email continues to be one of the most sought-after and difficult nuts to crack. The reason is that not everyone knows the key to crafting well-structured email content.

There are two ways of looking at this.

  • Communicating with existing clients. If you are using email as a customer retention strategy, you need to be extremely careful not to sound like a pitch deck.

What they’re looking for is information on new services you have to offer or whether you have added new features to your current product.

Your content needs to be relevant enough to catch their attention, which is why newsletters with relevant links and video content are great tools to leverage. HubSpot offers a great newsletter-building tool that’ll do the job for you in a jiffy.

  • Targeting new clients. While targeting a completely new segment, you need to strike up a conversation before anything else.

Structure your content by starting with a great way to grab their attention. Then talk about the pain points in the market and how your product will help them sail through it.

Again, don’t sound like you’re selling too hard. The aim is to optimize your content to grab and hold their attention.

Draft a Thank-You or a Follow-Up Email

Regardless of how big or small your business is, a thank-you or a follow-up email goes to show that you care about their contribution and time.

Say you’ve had a meeting with a prospect, and you’ve just cracked a deal. A short email thanking them for their valuable time and asking them for a good time to catch up on progress would mean that you care about your association.

This builds the base for a strong business relationship, which is what you need to grow at the end of the day. A few points to note here are:

  • Be prompt in drafting and sending the email.
  • Add a personal touch and sound positive.
  • Add relevant details, but don’t stretch the content.
  • Send one or two follow-up emails; stop if you don’t get a response.

Related:

  • Be prompt in drafting and sending the email.
  • Add a personal touch and sound positive.
  • Add relevant details, but don’t stretch the content.
  • Send one or two follow-up emails; stop if you don’t get a response.

The article is originally published at Callbox - The Savvy Marketer